How to become a taxi driver in Finland: training, examination and licence step by step

To work as a taxi driver in Finland, you need a taxi driving licence (taksinkuljettajan ajolupa). Traficom grants it. From 1 November 2026, these are the steps:

1. Check that you meet the conditions for the licence.
2. Complete 21 hours of taxi driver training.
3. Pass the taxi driver examination.
4. Get a medical report.
5. Submit the licence application.
6. Receive your licence card by post.

Each step is explained below. All the facts come from Traficom’s pages and regulations.

1. Check the conditions for the licence

You can get a taxi driving licence when:

• you got a category B driving licence at least one year ago in Finland or another EU or EEA country
• you are not banned from driving
• you meet the Group 2 fitness to drive requirements and show this with a medical report
• you have passed the taxi driver examination
• you have no entries in the criminal record or the register of fines that prevent the licence.

You cannot get the licence if, in the past five years, you received a conditional or unconditional prison sentence for certain offences. Examples are driving while intoxicated, causing a serious traffic hazard, driving without a right to drive, and violent, sexual, property, narcotics and fraud offences. A fine in the past three years, for example for driving while intoxicated or causing a serious traffic hazard, also prevents the licence. The full list is on Traficom’s page.

2. Complete 21 hours of taxi driver training

From 1 November 2026, you can take the taxi driver examination only after you have completed 21 hours of taxi driver training. In Finnish this is called taksinkuljettajan peruskoulutus. Only a training organisation approved by Traficom, with a training programme approved by Traficom, may provide it. See the taxi driver course.

According to Traficom’s regulation, the training covers:

• assisting passengers and taking care of their safety
• the special needs of different passenger groups, for example how a functional limitation affects using a taxi
• customer service in a taxi
• the driver’s rights and obligations, for example safety at work and the social legislation that applies to taxi drivers
• traffic safety, emergency first aid and what to do after an accident.

The training is entered in Traficom’s Transport Register (liikenneasioiden rekisteri) only if you attended all of it. On request, the training organisation must give you a certificate of the training free of charge.

3. Pass the taxi driver examination

You take the taxi driver examination (taksinkuljettajan koe) at a service point of Traficom’s service provider. Book it in advance in the Ajovarma booking service. A passed examination is valid for one year.

If you passed the examination without training between 1 September and 31 October 2026, it was valid only until 31 October 2026.

What the examination covers and how to prepare for it is explained on the page Taxi driver examination in Finland.

4. Get a medical report

You need a Group 2 medical report. It may be no more than six months old when you submit your application. If you are 68 or older, the report must take into account the effects of ageing.

You do not need the report if you have submitted one in connection with another matter in the last six months.

5. Submit the licence application

Complete and pay for the application at a service point of Traficom’s service provider. You can book this appointment in the Ajovarma booking service too. Bring:

• your passport or identity card
• a medical report, if you need one
• a photograph, if you do not have a valid passport, identity card or an earlier card photo approved by Traficom
• a driving licence issued in an EU or EEA country, if you do not have a Finnish right to drive.

6. Receive your licence card by post

Traficom processes your application. It contacts you if it needs more information or if the licence cannot be granted. The average processing time is two weeks, if no more information is needed. You receive the licence card at your home address by post in about two weeks.

Further step: special groups driver training

The special groups driver training (taksiliikenteen erityisryhmien kuljettajakoulutus) is not a condition for the taxi driving licence. Ask your employer, or the party that orders the transport, whether it is required for the transport you plan to drive.

According to Traficom’s regulation, the training covers at least:

• meeting and communicating with customers who have functional limitations or need other special support
• helping a customer to the vehicle, into it and out of it
• handling assistive devices, using a wheelchair lift and a wheelchair ramp, and securing a wheelchair in the vehicle
• helping a customer who travels with an assistance dog
• special questions in school and day care transport.

The training has theory and practical exercises. Every participant does the exercises. Practical teaching is always given in person.

Only a training organisation approved by Traficom may provide this training. According to Traficom, its content changed only a little in the reform, and the approvals of the organisations that provide it remain valid. See the special groups driver training.

How long the licence is valid, and renewing it

A taxi driving licence is valid for five years from the date it is granted. If you are 68 or older, it is valid for two years. When it expires, you must apply to renew it.

When you renew your licence between 1 November 2026 and 31 August 2034, you must first complete 7 hours of further training for taxi drivers (taksinkuljettajan täydennyskoulutus). If you completed the 21-hour taxi driver training after 1 September 2026, you do not need the further training.

Taxi School Finland does not provide the further training.

What the taxi law changed in autumn 2026 is explained on the page Taxi law 2026.

Driving for a company, or running your own

As a driver for another company you drive with your taxi driving licence, but your own taxi company also needs a taxi transport licence (taksiliikennelupa), because a taxi driving licence alone does not allow you to work as a taxi entrepreneur: see Become a taxi entrepreneur and Taxi licences in Finland.